There are three people you can
always expect to see here. Three people you can always expect
to see in every true New Testament gospel church. Not in every church,
but in every gospel church. In every place where God's people
are gathered, three people. You can expect always to be here. Wherever God's people are gathered
by his providence and grace to worship him, wherever God establishes
a gospel witness in a gospel church, as the assembly of the
saints gather, there are three people who will always be in
their midst. Have a gut's interest? Three
people. Companions, dividers, and God. Those three people you can always
find wherever the gospel of God's grace is preached and God's people
gather to worship Him. Companions in Christ, dividers
of the brethren, and God our Savior. The Lord God gathers
His elect in assemblies like this one for their edification. for our mutual comfort and strength,
for your learning and admonition, so that we can be of help and
assistance to one another, worshiping and serving him together in the
generation in which we live. By the labors we commit to together,
the gospel of God's grace is spread through the world in our
generation. By that labor, God calls out
his elect from the various corners of the earth. By that labor,
God honors his name in the generation in which we live. That has been
true throughout the ages and will be true until time is no
more. But wherever the Lord God gathers
his elect, you can be sure the reprobate are gathered. Wherever
the Lord God gathers his sheep, Satan brings in goats. Wherever our God plants his wheat,
Satan comes and plants tares. And none of us are capable of
knowing the one from the other. None of us can distinguish sheep
from goats. I know we all think we can. We
all use silly, absurd, ignorant statements. Well, I don't think
he's a believer. I think she's a believer. And
we base it on things that we see with these eyes, hear with
these ears, and feel with these carnal hearts. None of us has
the ability to distinguish who are sheep and who are goats. It is nothing but pride and self-righteousness
that makes us try to do so. None of us knows the difference
between wheat and tares. Now, some of you may be able
to distinguish that difference when you walk out in the field,
but spiritually, none of us can. None of us can. But the wheat
and the tares, the sheep and the goats will be separated. Separated by God. Separated by the preaching of
the gospel. Separated by the trials of life. Separated by temptation. Separated
by God's providence. And separated in everlasting
judgment. But the separation is God's work
alone. say that with all the emphasis
I can because we must never seek to purge God's church. That's
our Lord's business. We must never seek to Take out
of our midst those that we think that don't really know the Lord.
That is God's business. I know people that talk, well,
I want a pure church. Well, the best thing you can
do to help that thing is to get out of it. That's just fact. That's just fact. If it's pure,
there wouldn't be any room for you or me. by just fact. Well, we want a New Testament
church. I don't really prefer to live in a church like the
one at Corinth or the one at Galatia, do you? Those are New
Testament churches. The fact is, by God's own design,
there's always in the midst of his people both companions and
dividers. In the first church gathered
in the New Testament, our Lord deliberately put in their midst
an apostate rebel, a betrayer by the name of Judas. And our
Lord committed the same thing to him outwardly as he committed
to all the others in that church. Our Lord Jesus washed his feet
just like he did Peter's feet. Our Lord Jesus broke bread with
Judas just like he did with Peter. So in the church of God, you
will always find companions. Companions, that's the first
thing I want us to look at. The first 16 verses of this final
chapter of the Gospel of Romans, Paul speaks of companions of
his. Companions of one another. Companions who were in various
churches and in various places. Companions who were in the singular
church at Rome. Companions. Companions of people
knit together. Companions of people committed
to one another. Companions of people who love
one another. These companions were all companions
in the grace of God. Men and women who'd be born again
by the Spirit of God, partakers of Jesus Christ. Men and women
who had experienced God's free grace, His electing love, His
eternal mercy, who had been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ,
washed in His blood, born again in His image. That makes us companions. Men and women devoted to Christ,
that makes us companions. Men and women devoted to the
cause of Christ, that makes us companions in the fellowship
of our Lord Jesus Christ. I find it interesting that as
Paul writes this letter, he takes the time in writing this letter
to specifically mention by name specific people. What a remarkable
man he must have been. He didn't have a Rolodex and
he didn't have a mailing list on his computer, but he made
a deliberate effort to remember people because he wanted them
to know they are important to me. I want you and God's people
to whom I preach the gospel here and around the world. to know
your importance to me. He mentions their names. He even
sometimes calls the names of their husband or wife, their
sons or daughters. He speaks of them personally
with tender heart because he loved them dearly. And he doesn't
rank one above another. You'll notice in this chapter
here, these first 16 verses, Paul speaks of fellow laborers
in Christ. But these fellow laborers, these
companions of his, some of them were mighty, wealthy men. There was a fellow who was Chamberlain
of the city of Corinth, where Paul was when he wrote this letter.
There was another who was Narcissus of Caesar's household. He was
the taught dog in the Roman city of Rome for this Claudius Caesar
who ruled. These were mighty wealthy men.
Some had enough wealth that they maintained churches in their
homes. I'm not talking now about a little
group gathering like our folks down in Wichita Falls in the
Wilson's home or others gathered in little places. I'm talking
about congregations. They maintained them regularly
in their homes. Some even entertained them as house guests, entire
congregations, for a lengthy period of time in their homes.
These were big shots. These were wealthy people. And
some were insignificant, poor people. Some were very highly
educated, and some had no education. Some were Jews, And some were
Gentiles and some were Africans. There's one fellow named here
Rufus. You know who he was? Rufus was son to Simon the Cyrenian
who was compelled by the Romans to carry the Savior's cross.
That ranks him pretty good. They were all companions. Some
were men and some were women. Sometimes Paul names the woman
before the man, and sometimes he names the man before the woman.
Now, reading the commentary, studying this passage, it's amazing
what men can deduce from nothing. And they would presume that when
a woman's mentioned, she's superior. When a man's mentioned, he's
superior. That's nonsense. For some reason, and I don't
really know why, almost every time I refer to Charlotte and
Meryl Hart, I refer to them just that way. I don't have any idea
why. And almost every time I refer
to Rex and Debbie, I refer to them just that way. Rex and Debbie,
or Charlotte and Meryl. Well, you must think Rex is something
and Debbie is nothing. You must think Charlotte's something
and Debbie's nothing. No, that's just the way I do it. That's
all, that's all. There's just no significance to that at all.
Why? because there's really no significance.
There's really no significance. In Christ Jesus, neither male
nor female is anything. Neither black nor white, neither
bond nor free, neither rich nor poor, neither learned nor unlearned. We're told that repeatedly. Repeatedly
turn over to Galatians chapter 3. Let me see Galatians 3 I want
you to see this we could look at any number of passages, but
Paul's here talking about the children of Abraham God's elect back up in verse
27 As many of you as have been baptized
into Christ have put on Christ There is neither Jew nor Greek.
There is neither bond nor free There's neither male nor female,
for you're all one in Christ Jesus. Now that's what that means. God's people are one in Christ. One with Christ and truly one. When the scripture says that
in Christ there's neither Jew nor Gentile, that doesn't mean
when a fellow is baptized, joins the church and becomes a part
of the public assembly of God's people, he ceases to be a Jew
or ceases to be a Gentile. Or a woman ceases to be a woman
or a man ceases to be a man. That's absurd. That's absurd.
What it means is that doesn't make any difference. That doesn't
make any difference. Now, I'll tell you something
that this religious age as well as this stupid political age can't get
hold of. Only in the kingdom of God does
the amount of money you got in the bank or don't have. Your
education or lack of it. The color of your skin, black
or white. Your rank in society, only here
does that not matter. Only here, only here. And it's my responsibility as
your pastor to make dead certain it doesn't matter here. Make certain it doesn't matter.
So that one is not preferred above another because of his
rank or station in life. And one is not neglected because
of their lack of rank or station in life. That must not be. In Christ, we are one. And all
of God's people are equal in Christ. Paul speaks of this one
man who was in Christ before me. I'll say more about that later,
the Lord willing, in another week or two, but some are born
again in the last hour of life, and some early. Brother Samuel
back there, I baptized him last week. He'd been asking me to
baptize him for a couple of years, and I finally talked to him about
it just briefly. I just wanted to know why, and
I wanted him to tell me why, not his mother or daddy or grandmother.
Wanted him to tell me why. And so I asked him about it for
conference. He said, the Lord saved me and
I believe in Jesus. That's all. That's all. Oh, how
blessed are those whom God calls in the first hour of the day
of life. Oh, God give you grace every
day, my brother, to give your life to Christ. And how blessed
are those God calls in the last hour of life. If my mind, my
memory served me correctly, several years ago, the oldest lady I
ever baptized was 94 years old when God saved her. Oh, what a pity, no, just the
right time. Just the right time according to God's purpose for
her and all of those whom she will influence. We are all in
Christ, if we're in Christ at all, from eternity. Some come
to experience God's grace early in life, some later in life,
exactly at the same appointed hour God ordained from eternity. I read earlier this morning the
20th chapter of Matthew's Gospel. You remember the parable of the
kingdom of heaven? The husbandman goes out and he
hires some folks to work for him the first hour of the day.
And then he goes out and second hour of the day sees some folks
standing by, idling away, just doing nothing. That's what men
do to start to serve Christ. They just spend their lives idling. What a remarkable statement.
Three times, four times, he uses that word idle. Just standing
on the corner with their hands in their pocket, idle. That's
where everybody is without Christ. Meaningless, nothing, nobody,
everybody. Oh, but he's president of the
United States, just idle. Just sitting there idle. But
he's a famous athlete, just idle. But he's a great movie star,
just idle. Just nothing, doing nothing,
accomplishing nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing! Until called
by God's grace. And he goes out at the sixth
hour, and the seventh hour, and at the eleventh hour. And then,
when the day's over, he said to his steward, said, bring all
the laborers in here, and pay them what I agreed to. And start
with those who were called last. And he brought the fella in,
hired last, last hour of the day, and gave him a penny. And
he called all the others in, and then he called those who
were hired first, and gave them a penny a day's wages. know what the fellow's
complaint was? They said, we labored in the
heat of the day and you had made them equal with us. Now flesh despises that. That's
called grace. That's called grace. Understand
this, God's people are equal in Christ. in grace, equal before God, and
equal in one another's eyes. All of God's people are peers. All of God's people equal one
to the other. Paul speaks here of women who
labored with him in the cause of Christ. Not one of them preached,
Not one of them held office in the church. Not one of them was
allowed to speak in the assembly. Not one of them was a deacon.
Not one of them. But they labored with him. How?
Some of them were wealthy women. Maybe their husbands had no interest
at all in things of government, but they would entertain the
apostles as they traveled to preach. They'd feed the church
in their house. They would hold the whole assembly
as guests in their houses. They labored with Paul in the
Word. They cared for him and prayed
for him. And he cared for and prayed for
them. You ladies, I wish I could convince
this generation of what I've tried to raise our daughter to
know and try to teach our granddaughter to know. God did not put you
here to be career woman. God didn't put you here for that
purpose. God didn't put you here to live an independent life.
God made women to be servant to their husbands, made women
to make them homemakers. And these women who serve Christ,
you ladies who serve Christ, you older ladies serving the
younger, If you serve Christ in the interest of Christ, you
teach the younger women by example and by word to be good keepers
at home. You teach them to love their
husbands. Well, who needs to be taught that? Most everybody
I know. To love their husbands, to devote themselves to their
husbands. You teach them to love their
children. That's a wife's principal sphere of responsibility and
should be her principal sphere of care. That's called godliness. That's called godliness. Not
write books and be teachers of others and have a name for yourself,
but rather to be a good wife, a good mother, serving God. What a privilege. What a privilege. These people were admired by
Paul, and he commends them, men and women, young and old, rich
and poor, for their good work. I know sometimes people in a
pretense of piety and holiness and godliness say, well, I don't
want to brag on men. It'll be all right. It'll be
all right. I promise you. If my eye catches something you
do, I'm gonna brag on you to you and to others. I promise
you I will. How come? Because people need
to know they're appreciated. Paul did it. Our Lord did it. You remember in Mark 14, there
was a woman, she had been a notorious gal. Nobody really wanted to be around
her. did. But she came in and anointed
the Lord for his burial, washed his feet with her tears, wiped
them with the hairs of her head, and kissed him, kissed his feet. And Judas, leading the apostles, isn't that a remarkable how quickly
men like Peter, James, and John would follow the lead of Judas.
Isn't that remarkable? I find that astounding. We're
far more easily and quickly influenced by evil than by good. They began
to mock this woman. And the Lord Jesus did this.
He said, you leave her alone. She hath done what she could.
And wherever the gospel is preached, People gonna tell the story about
her. Merle, that's a pretty good commendation, isn't it? It's
perfectly all right to commend folks for good. To commend folks
for their work. Perfectly all right. We're real
sharp and quick to criticize and to rebuke. God give us grace
to commend and to appreciate. These folks are given descriptions
here. I wrote some of them down. so
we don't have to look them up. They're people who receive one
another, and they're received by one another. They are suckers,
helpers of one another. They just see what needs to be
done and do it. They're helpers. They are people who are approved
in Christ. They are in the Lord, in Christ,
in Christ, in Christ. Laborers in the Lord. Chosen
in the Lord, approved of in the Lord. What a resume. That's how God's people are described
here. We are companions. Companions
in the sweet fellowship of the gospel. Men and women of one
heart, of one mind, of one purpose, serving God. God make us that. God make us
that. Then in verse 17, the Apostle
Paul, I'm sorry, verse 16, Paul tells us one more thing about
these companions. He says, salute one another with
a holy kiss. As was common in that day and
is as common in Eastern countries to this day. You see it on television
sometimes. But Paul is not here talking
just about a carnal salutation. He is not talking to you about
a kiss of passion. He's not talking about a kiss
of love, of lust, but rather he's talking about a holy kiss.
Peter calls it a kiss of love. Believers ought to show their
affection to one another. Yes, we ought to love each other. That's not really what the scriptures
teach, is it? The scriptures don't teach us we ought to love
each other. The scriptures teach us that believers love each other. If you don't love your brother,
you don't know God. Plain as a nose on your face. Not that you ought
to love him, but you love him. Believers do. But we ought to
show affection for one another, both publicly and privately. Show affection for one another.
I love this lady sitting here, and she loves me, and I tell
her real often, and she tells me real often, well, that's silly,
that's what little boys and girls do. I suggest old men and women
try. Well, she knows I love her, not
if you don't show it. He knows I love him, not if you
don't show it. Well, the folks out there at
church, they know I love them. Now, wouldn't you act like a
horse's rear all the time? Now, wouldn't you carpet and grab
and mess stuff all the time? Believers ought to express their affection
to one another, privately and publicly. Take time to let people
you love know that you love them. Perhaps I shouldn't say this,
or if I shouldn't say it, I wouldn't. but it's not commonly accepted.
In my household growing up, I'm sure it must have been spoken,
must have been, I don't ever remember hearing anybody in the
house say I love you. Not one, not one. Not mother to dad, dad to mother.
Not parents to children, children to parents. I don't ever remember
hearing it. I don't ever remember hearing
it. Sadly, there's some of you, I've never heard speak those
words to anyone else. Sad. Show your affection to one
another. I don't mean surfy, sloppy pretense. I love you, brother. I love you,
sister. No, that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about
showing your affection to one another. Greet one another with
a holy kiss, a kiss of love. Be genuine in your affection
and show it. And then Paul gives us a warning,
verse 17. In the congregations of God,
you always have companions. And wherever there are companions,
Satan, who is in a rage because he knows he has but a short time,
raises up dividers. Satan's determined to do everything
he can to destroy the name of Christ and the church of Christ.
He can't do it, but he's constantly seeking to do it. And it does
so more than any other way by discord, by carping, griping,
complaining, divisive, heretical men and women who are so sweet
sugar wouldn't melt in their mouth to hear them talk. I'll
read what it says. I beseech you, brethren, mark
them. Put a mark on them. Put a mark
on them. Not for other folks, a mark you
can see. Mark, Bill, which calls divisions
and offenses. Specifically, he says, contrary
to the doctrine which you have learned. They call division and
offenses things contrary to the doctrine of the gospel, specifically
what Paul has told us in his book of Romans. In the church of God, God's people
are equal. They are one, they're companions.
But God has given you and gives his churches pastors to feed
them with knowledge and with understanding. I have had the
privilege of serving as your pastor, to serve temporarily
as pastor of other churches. I am right now with the folks
in San Diego, folks in Ballymoney, folks in Wasilla, and I do what
I can to be of help to them. That makes me the teacher. And
that makes me a man responsible to warn folks of error as well
as teach them the truth. Sometime back, a fella contacted
fellas in San Diego. It's been a good while back,
and wanted to know if he could bring a message. He was sure
the Lord had given him a message for him. And they asked me about
it. I said, tell him to contact me.
Tell him to contact me, because I knew exactly what his existence
was. And I said to them, under no circumstances allow him to
even lead in prayer. How come? Because I know the
error. I know the error, I know the evil about which he's engaged. How can you do that? Mark them
and avoid them. Men who would lead you away from
the simplicity of the gospel, the simplicity of Jesus Christ,
particularly, Paul is talking about the gospel itself, the
power of God to salvation. He's talking about the fact that
men Religious and irreligious, without the knowledge of God,
without the gospel, are lost and under the wrath of God. The
fact that salvation is by the free grace of God, by the blood
of Jesus Christ, that no man is saved by his works, and no
man is sanctified by his works, but rather we are justified freely
by the grace of God through the faith of Jesus Christ, and we
receive that justification by faith in Christ. and we are in
Christ free from the law, free from sin, free from death, free
from judgment, brethren in Christ Jesus the Lord. Now, he says
avoid them. When a preacher comes along and
he's got another issue, a teacher comes up in church and he's got
another issue, Contrary to the things clearly taught you that
you have learned, something new. Oh, I never heard that before.
You'd be better off if you hadn't heard it now. Something new,
something different. Most folks don't believe this.
I'm gonna investigate that. You'll be smart to leave it alone.
You'll be smart to leave it alone because it doesn't matter what
it is. If you get intrigued and taken in by it, it'll take you
hook, line, and sinker. I've been at this for a while.
Listen to me, my brethren. I would to God every preacher
who hears my voice would listen to me. Don't dabble. with other things. Just don't
do it. Just don't do it. Satan dances
this thing in front of you, that thing in front of you, just like
a worm on a hook, and the fish swim around, swim around, and
they hit it, and then they nibble on it a little bit, and that
worm tastes pretty good, and all of a sudden they've got it,
and they're gone. Because that becomes the only thing that matters. Leave it alone. Not just doctrinal
error. but strife and division. Look
at verse 18. For they that are such, they
only have one motive, one motive. It's not the cause of Christ,
it's not the purity of the church, it's not the word of God, not
the purity of the gospel. They have one motive, their own
lust. They serve not the Lord Jesus
Christ, but their own belly. That's all they serve, that's
all they serve. Folks will come around and they'll bring you
a case of honey, or they'll bring you a meal ticket, or they'll
come visit you and talk so sweet. But you know, you know, Brother
Jerry said, we need to pray for Brother Jerry. Doesn't that sound
wonderful? We need to pray for Brother Jerry.
I'll tell you what he's fixing to do. He's fixing to tell you
something you don't need to know about Brother Jerry. Probably
ain't so, but sounds good, sweet. So sweet. Let's have prayer now. Read on. They served their own
belly and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of
the simple. Simple. Simple. How simple-minded men are who
judge anything after the flesh. I mentioned Peter, James, and
John following Judas' lead. Simple. Easily deceived. He was easily led astray. How
sad. For your obedience, that is your
obedience of faith, your obedience to the gospel, your obedience
to the Lord Jesus, has come abroad unto all men. I am glad, therefore,
on your behalf. Glad for God's grace that sent
a man to teach you the gospel. Glad for God's grace that gave
you grace to believe the gospel. Glad for God's grace that has
kept you in the gospel. But now here's the caution. I
would have you be wise under that which is good and simple
concerning evil. The word is open, aboveboard,
honest, naive. Wise as serpents, our Lord put
it, harmless as doves. Wise with regard to all that's
good, simple with regard to evil things. Don't behave like the
ungodly. Cunning, crafty, sneaky. Several years ago, Brother Mark
Daniel was pastoring in Albany, Georgia. And I was aware of the
fact he was having some difficulty, hadn't been there very long.
And while I was there, there were folks who were working to
get him out. Working to get him out with cunning
craftiness. Meet together and have coffee,
let's talk. We need to have a meeting, let's talk, let's talk. Don't
do it. What do you do with such people?
Mark them and avoid them. John tells us in 2 John 10, don't
bring them into your house. Don't bring them in. Just don't
do it. Don't give them a hearing. Treat
them like they had to plague. Be nice to them, feed them, but
treat them like they had to plague. But you don't. In light of all
this, it's good to know that there is a third person always
in our midst, always with his church. And that third person
is God our Savior. And the God of peace shall brew
Satan under your feet shortly. Regardless of the temptations,
regardless of the trials, regardless of the adversity, God will brew
Satan under your heels. Every foe, every foe is gonna
bow to you. Stand still! see the salvation
of the Lord. That's always God's instruction.
The Lord God, our Savior, causes His church to be always triumphant
over Satan. Always. Never a time when she's
not triumphant over him. But the battle is not ours, only
the victory. so that we stand at the last
day with our feet on Satan's neck, just like David stood with
his feet on Goliath's neck. Just as though we'd whipped him.
Just as though we'd whipped him. The God of peace shall bruise
Satan under your feet shortly. That is suddenly, quickly, before
you know it. This is the counsel I just gave
to a preacher friend of mine this week. Going through some
real difficulty. He said, what should I do? I
said, nothing, nothing. How do I handle this? Don't handle
it, leave it alone, leave it alone. It's gonna cause trouble,
leave it alone, leave it alone. God will take care of it. I have never attempted to fix
anything in my life in this capacity of church life, spiritual life,
and things of God. Jimmy, I've never tried to fix
anything in my life that I'd mess it up. Every time I step
in, it makes a mess. When I was a boy, occasionally,
I had a job assigned to me when I'd go visit my cousins in the
mountains of North Carolina. Their daddy had about 300 or
400 laying hens, these old eggs. Do you know how often they cleaned
the chicken house out when I came? It was my job with his sons to
clean out the chicken house. And I'll tell you what I discovered. If he had moved him from one
place to another in the house and been sitting there empty for a while,
as long as you left it alone, you didn't smell anything much.
A little stink now and then. A little stink now and then.
But man alive, you stick your shovel in it and start to stir. You gag. I mean gag because you
stirred up the muck. What do you do? Stand still and
watch God work. Just stand still and watch God
work and work He will by His Word. Read on. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
be with you. Amen. Paul repeats that same
thing in verse 24. Grace was important to this man
and he knew it was important to God's people. Grace is that
which comes to us through Jesus Christ, our mediator. And the
Lord God speaks by his dear son, grace. So that in the midst of
great trial, Paul said, God, I beg you, I beg you. God, I'm begging you a third
time, take this from me. And the third time, the Lord
Jesus said to him, live with it. The God of peace shall brew
Satan under your feet shortly. My grace is sufficient for thee. Eternal covenant grace, electing
grace, redeeming grace, preserving grace, sanctifying grace, comforting
grace, providential grace. My grace is sufficient for thee. Now listen to me. Let's do it. Clause, are you listening? Listen
to me. Listen to what the Savior says. My youngest brother Samuel,
are you listening? My grace is sufficient for thee
right now. Right now. Right now. Wherever you are, whatever your
need, my grace is sufficient for thee. And the God of peace,
They're gonna put your feet on Satan's neck. Read on. Timotheus, my work fellow, and
Lucius, and Jason, and Socipiter, my kinsmen, salute you. I, Tertius,
who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord. I've gotta comment
on that just briefly. That doesn't mean Tertius is
the one who wrote the epistle. Yes, it does. You're right in
both cases. Paul was the author. Tertius
was the secretary. Obviously, that's what it's all
about. Tertius wrote it. It was sent by Phoebe to the
church at Rome from Corinth. But Tertius had the epistle dictated
to him. Read on. Gaius, mine host, and
of the whole church, saluteth you. Erastus, the chamberlain
of the city. Erastus, he's the top dog in
Rome under Caesar, saluteth you. And Quartus, a brother. Oh, God's
got people everywhere. Isn't it amazing? Some in Caesar's
house, Chamberlain of the city, one of his chief powerful men,
Narcissus. God's got his people everywhere.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. Now, if
that's the case, all of this is God's work and God's grace.
It's God who saved us and God who keeps us. God who preserves
his church and God who meets with his church. The Lord Jesus
is pictured in Revelation chapter one. The alpha and the omega. He's, do you remember how you
see him? He's walking. He walking. Where's he walking? He's walking in the midst of
the seven churches. Walking wherever his people are
found in this world. Walking in the midst of the churches. Ephesus, Sardis, Pergamos, Laodicea,
all of them. He's walking in the midst of
them. He's walking there, protecting his own interests and ours. How so? He holds The angel of
the church is in his right hand. And he walks in the midst, protecting
and caring for them, keeping them as the apple of his eye.
He that touches you touches the apple of my eye. So let him have
all the praise. Now to him that has the power
to establish you according to my gospel. and the preaching
of Jesus Christ. That's how he establishes you.
According to the revelation of the mystery, this wondrous mystery
of Christ crucified, sinners saved out of the four corners
of the earth, making up the whole of his elect, which was kept
secret since the world began, but now is made manifest. and
by the scriptures of the prophets. That is, this gospel we're preaching
is in exact compliance with all the Old Testament scriptures.
Made known to all nations for the obedience of faith to God,
only wise. He's the only one who is. He's the only one who is. And
if you get a touch of it, He gave it to you. If I get a hint
of it, He gave it to me. To God only wise be glory. And this is where His glory is
found, through Jesus Christ. Forever. Amen.